The Valley Chronicle - emOpinion:em Termination result of Parker

Dear Editor, Regarding the termination of Allen Parker as Hemet City Manager, this action was not a witch hunt, nor a vendetta, but the result of Allen Parker not doing his job. The facts are: 1. After presenting the great idea over a year ago that Hemet should be developed as a hub for all of the outdoor activities in the Hemet area, the Hemet City Council instructed Allen to provide a long-term strategic plan with the necessary vision to bring this idea to fruition. However, Allen did not submit anything: No vision, no plan, no execution! Sixteen months were wasted. 2. Because no new revenue had been developed, Allen attempted to balance the budget by using Measure U funds, which was in direct conflict to the will of the people. 3. Although community response to the first issue of the Hemet newsletter was positive, Allen did not develop any further issues, though the community and Hemet City Department heads were in full support of a newsletter to educate the Hemet citizens on what the city was doing. 4. When Allen failed to issue a contract between Valley-Wide Parks and Recreation District and the City of Hemet, the community lost the Simpson Center as an activity center and meeting place. 5. Allen did not hold a meeting with the State Auditor to establish procedures by which the state would be comfortable with Hemet’s control and reporting of the city’s financial status. 6. Allen did not hold frequent and regular meetings with each of the city’s department heads to discuss priorities and accomplishments, or the lack thereof. 7. Allen did not hold council planning sessions to discuss a five -year capital Improvement plan. 8. Allen did not address how to meet the needs of Hemet city departments in spite of the publicized frustration of various Hemet department heads. 9. Allen did not address the [alleged] inadequacy of the Hemet Engineering Department in spite of expressed concerns by various Hemet department heads. 10. Despite requests from Hemet City Council members, Allen did not schedule any meetings on future agenda item lists during the past year. The biggest question for everyone, despite what everybody knew: Why would two council members say he should continue as city manager when he clearly had no interest in Hemet? [It is my opinion] his interest was only in collecting a paycheck for not doing his job! Marie L. McDonald, Hemet